What to Expect: Smash 5 and the Future

            After four years of ups and downs for Super Smash Brothers (SSB) fans, a new challenger approaches. The newest iteration of the series that keeps on smashing is finally slated to arrive later this year. Both casual fans and competitive enthusiasts are looking forward to a breath of fresh air in the scene, as Smash for 3ds and Wii U (Sm4sh) grew pretty stale rather quickly, at least compared to its monolithic predecessor SSB Melee. Where Melee still garners tens of thousands of unique audience members during its major streams, Sm4sh has been on a roller coaster of enthusiasm for the game over the last couple of years specifically, and its stream numbers always seem just shy of cracking the excitement that its 17 year old ancestor Melee gets. This gives Smash 5 rather large shoes to fill; and to do it, fans wants, needs, and concerns for the future of the franchise will need to be addressed. With that in mind, here is a (non-exhaustive) list of what Smash for Switch can do to keep its fans happy, and smashing.

            1. Really listen to the community- What keeps a fighting game alive long past the initial excitement of a new, shiny game is its competitive scene. During the entire run of Sm4sh, there have been complaints, wish lists, and recommendations from the fans who love it. While not every character or gameplay mechanic a dreamer can dream might work well on the Switch’s hardware, but there are some solid suggestions that could’ve easily been applied. Using characters from Nintendo’s own Copyright or partner’s ips: King K. Rool, Paper Mario, and bringing back the Ice Climbers wouldn’t be too hard of a swing to get by.

            2. Admit mistakes and fix them- Rage is a mechanic in Sm4sh that, in theory, allows for come-backs to be more feasible in matches. While this idea seems like an exciting one, in practice, the increased knockback and damage output gained from getting beaten to a pulp and having your percentage skyrocket allows for RNG and wonky situations to happen in the competitive scene, especially. Inconsistency is the enemy of fair and competitive gameplay. A mechanic that can swing the tides in an instant, particularly in a game that’s so combo heavy at the highest level of play, makes for super hype moments. But the other side of the coin is that it can reward players of lower skill for hitting a button at a random right time or punish a player that is dominating a match for being so good in the first place. Take out rage, and we can get back to taking the beating, licking our wounds, and getting better so it doesn’t happen again.

            3. Remember what got you here in the first place- “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The old adage is a cliché for a reason. Melee is still being played competitively, for higher stakes, and insane viewer count. That’s not ONLY because people love nostalgia and watching HungryBox up-air rest trap people. It’s also because the game had solid gameplay mechanics that made it a pleasure to play and watch get played at a high level. Take what worked from Melee, keep what makes it Melee in the first place, and only add what could further the experience. An easy way to do that is to see what people loved about Sm4sh, take those, and integrate them with Melee. See what works and doesn’t. Tweak as needed. Wash, rinse, and repeat. You will find something that will last for a very long time.